Underwater suction anchors



1967 v. E. JOHNSON. JR., ETAL 3,343,517

UNDERWATER SUCTION ANCHORS .Filed Feb. 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l 28 18l6 "128 2E f 24 r WHHHH i ATTORNEY! 1967 v. E. JOHNSON, JR; ETAL3,348,517-

, UNDERWATER SUCTION ANCHORS Filed Feb. 18, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS VIRGIL E. JOHNSON JR. WILLIAM c. WEBSTER ATTORNEY) .Oct. 24,1967 v. E. JOHNSON, JR., ETAL 3,348,517

UNDERWATER SUCTION ANCHORS v 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 18, 1966IIIIIHM INVENTORS VIRGIL IE. JOHNSON JR. WILLIAM c. WEBSTER BY /z/mef Q'A'ITORNEYJ;

United States Patent 3,348,517 UNDERWATER SUCTION ANCHORS Virgil E.Johnson, Jr., Gaithersburg, and William C. Webster, Brookville, Md.,assignors to Hydronautics,

Inc., Laurel, Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Feb. 18, 1966, Ser.No. 528,635 Claims. (Cl. 114-206) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aself-propelled maneuverable anchor of ogive configuration including awater-tight chamber with a motor therein and an impeller chamber forwardof the motor chamber, the housing having a centrally disposed pump inletto the impeller chamber and rearwardly oriented water outlets therefromwith a sealing means thereon concentric with the inlet. The rearward endof the housing, adjacent the apex of the ogive, has vanes extendingradially therefrom for guiding the anchor through the water, the vanesbeing adjustable to maneuver the anchor, or when not adjustable,maneuverability being accomplished by varying the discharge of the waterfrom the impeller chamber outlets.

This invention relates generally to anchors and more particularly tomaneuverable anchors which are attached to submerged objects.

Devices of the general class to which this invention pertains are usedfor marking, attaching to, retrieving or otherwise operating onsubmerged objects or formations. These devices generally include anattaching means, usually a suction apparatus to attach the device byhydrostatic pressure difierential, and a system for lowering theattaching means into a body of water. In the prior art, the suctionpower for the attaching means has generally been applied from ashipboard or surface pump through a hose associated with the loweringsystem.

This invention relates to improvements in the above described art and itis an object of this invention to furnish an anchor of the typedescribed which has a capability for maneuvering by utilizing thesuction producing source thereof as a means to maneuver and/ or propelthe anchor.

It is another object of this invention to furnish a selfpropelledsuction anchor which requires a minimum of surface connecting structureby providing a self-contained source to furnish both suction andpropulsion for the anchor.

It is a further object of this invention to furnish a selfpropelledanchor which is guidable from a surface location by providing remotelycontrolled maneuvering means for the anchor.

It is still another object of this invention to furnish a suspensionsystem for a suction anchor which imposes a minimum parting moment tothe anchor by gimballing the support proximate the attaching pointthereof.

These and other objects of the invention will become better understoodto those skilled in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings whereinlike numerals indicate like parts throughout the figures thereof andwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of an anchor embodying features inaccordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatical view showing the operation of a device inaccordance with the invention for application to the hull of a submergedvessel.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 of a modi fied form of theinvention.

Turning now to FIGURE 1 for a more detailed description of the device,the anchor comprises a housing 3,348,517 Patented Oct. 24, 1967 10 whichencloses a motor 12 in a watertight chamber between bulkheads 14 and 16.The motor 12 is connected to a centrifugal pump impeller 18, disposed inan impeller housing 20 in a forward portion of the device, through apump shaft 22 rotatably mounted in a bearing 24 disposed in the bulkhead16. The impeller housing is provided with a pump inlet 26 concentricallydisposed in a transverse forward wall and rearwardly oriented pumpoutlets 28 disposed equidistantly around the periphery thereof. Anannular elastomeric seal 30 is concentrically disposed on the forwardwall of the housing 10 around the pump inlet 26 and serves to provide asuction attaching means for the anchor.

A supporting bale 32 is gimballed to the housing 10 proximate thesuction attaching means through bearings 34. This bale serves to providesupport and a pivotal connection to a support cable 36 through an eye 38on the end thereof. Insulated electrical cable 40 extends from thesupport cable 36 to provide power for the motor 12 through a powerconductor 41 and for other purposes to be decribed below.

Radially disposed vanes 42, pivotally mounted on a ball joint 44,through openings 48 in the housing 10 are encompassed by an annularshroud 46 to form a tail vane assembly. An electrically powered actuator50 is mounted on the bulkhead 14 and is connected to the vanes 42 toprovide means to change the orientation of the vanes and shroud withrespect to the housing 10 for purposes to be described below. Power issupplied to the actuator 50 through a control conductor 52 which,combined with the electrical cable 40, is attached to the support cable36 and connected to a control source (not shown) on the ship from whichthe anchor has been launched.

The rear portion of the housing 10 is configured in the form of arearwardly tapering ogive having a decreasing diameter, behind the pumpoutlets 28, of sufficient magnitude to build up a large fluid boundarylayer in this area to increase the effectiveness of the propulsion meansas will be explained later.

In FIGURE 2, the anchor 8 is suspended through the cable 36 from amother ship 54 and, under power, is controlled from a mother ship towardthe hull of a submerged vessel 56. The anchor 8 is shown in contact withthe surface of a submerged vessel 56 in phantom lines.

In the operation of the device of the figure, the anchor is lowered intothe water from a mother ship 54 (FIG URE 2) and the motor 12 isenergized to start the action of the pump impeller 18. Water drawn inthrough the inlet 26 is expelled through the outlets 28 in the form ofhigh velocity jets directed into the above-mentioned large fluidboundary layer on the rear portion of the housing 10.

The boundary layer, moving ata velocity substantially lower than that offree stream water increases the effectiveness of the jets from theoutlets 28 in propelling the anchor through the water. The anchor 8,propelled through the water by the jets, is maneuvered by change inorientation of the tail vane assembly by energizing the actuator 50 asrequired.

When the seal 30 makes contact with a smooth surface, such for exampleas the submerged ship 56 (FIGURE 2), the pump, in withdrawing waterthrough the intake 26, creates a low pressure region within the spacedefined by the seal 30 and the pressure difference between this regionand the water surrounding the anchor holds the anchor firmly on thesurface. Small leakages due to surface irregularities and the like willnot diminish the holding force since the pump will be continuouslyoperating to withdraw water caused by such leaks from the low pressu-rearea. The arrangement of the gimballed connection 6 for the bale 32 nadthe disposition of the connection between the bale and the housing 10provides a minimum moment for any forces acting through the cable 36which would tend to pry the anchor oil of the surface to which it isattached.

In FIGURE 3, a variation of the embodiment of FIG- URE 1 is shown andthe components thereof corresponding to equivalent components in theembodiment of FIG- URE 1 are indicated by like numerals only of the nexthigher order. The primary distinction between the version of FIGURE 3and that of the preceding figure lies in the apparatus for controllingthe orientation of the housing or guiding the anchor through the water.In the version of FIGURE 3, the vanes 142 and the shroud 146 are fixedto the housing 110. A valve 160, operated by a solenoid 162 mounted onthe bulkhead 116, is provided over each of the pump outlets 128 tocontrol the effluent therefrom. Each of the solenoids 162 is controlledthrough an electrical conductor 164 which ties in with the conductorcable 140 and extends up to the mother ship 54 (FIGURE 2) with the cable136.

By selective operation of the solenoids 162, the efiluent through theoutlets 128 can be controlled as desired to thereby guide the anchor inits passage through the water. By shutting off one or more of theoutlets 128, the unbalanced forces imposed on the anchor will cause itto turn in the direction of the closed outlets thereby providing meansto alter the orientation of the anchor. The operation of the remainingcomponents of the anchor of FIG- URE 3 is identical to that of thecorresponding components of FIGURE'l as described above.

What has been set forth above is intended as exemplary of teachings inaccordance with this invention to enable those skilled in the art in thepractice thereof. It should therefore be understood that, within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically described.

We claim:

1. A self-propelled maneuverable anchor for suction attachment tosubmerged surfaces comprising: a pump means including a housing; a pumpinlet and at least one outlet through said housing, said outletconfigured to direct the efiluent from said pump along said housing topropel the anchor through water; an annular seal disposed around saidpump inlet, a support means connected to said housing for lowering theanchor into a body of water; and adjustable means to controllably guidethe anchor through water.

2. A maneuverable anchor for suction attachment to submerged surfacescomprising: a pump means including a housing; a pump inlet and at leastone outlet through said housing, said outlet configured to direct theefiluent from said pump along said housing to propel the anchor throughwater; an annular seal disposed around said pump inlet; a support meansconnected to said housing for lowering the anchor into a body of water;means to controllably guide the anchor through water, and wherein aplurality of outlets are provided in said housing and wherein said meansto controllably guide the anchor through water comprises:

a valve associated with each of said outlets to independently controlthe effluent therefrom to alter the orientation of said housing whensaid anchor is moving through water.

3. A maneuverable anchor for suction attachment to submerged surfacescomprising: a pump means including a housing; a pump inlet and at leastone outlet through said housing, said outlet configured to direct theeffluent from said pump along said housing to propel the anchor throughwater; an annular seal disposed around said pump inlet; a support meansconnected to said housing for lowering the anchor into a body of water;means to controllably guide the anchor through water, and whereinradially extending vanes are pivotally mounted on said housing andwherein said means to controllably guide the anchor through watercomprises:

at least one actuator connected between said vanes and said housing tochange the orientation therebetween to alter the orientation of saidhousing when said anchor is moving through water.

4. A maneuverable anchor for suction attachment to submerged surfacescomprising: a pump means including a housing; a pump inlet and at leastone outlet through said housing, said outlet configured'to direct theeffiuent from said pump along said housing to propel the anchor throughwater; an annular seal disposed around said pump inlet; a support meansconnected to said housing for lowering the anchor into a body of water;means to controllably guide the anchor through water, and wherein saidsupport means includes a bale pivotally connected to either side of saidhousing proximate said pump inlet; whereby said housing is movablerelative to the supporting means.

5. A maneuverable anchor for suction attachment to submerged surfacescomprising: a pump means including a housing; a pump inlet and at leastone outlet through said housing, said outlet configured to direct theeffiuent from said pump along said housing to propel the anchor throughwater; an annular seal disposed around said pump inlet; a support meansconnected to said housing for lowering the anchor into a body of water;means to controllably guide the anchor through water, and wherein saidhousing includes a front portion having a substantially flat transverseforward wall and a rearwardly tapering rear portion having vanesadjacent the end of the rearwardly tapering portion of said housing,said vanes having their inner ends mounted on the housing and extendingradially out from the housing.

6. A maneuverable anchor for suction attachment to submerged surfacescomprising: a pump means including a housing; a pump inlet and at leastone outlet through said housing, said outlet configured to direct theeflluent from said pump along said housing to propel the anchor throughwater; an annular seal disposed around said pump inlet; a support meansconnected to said housing for lowering the anchor into a body of water;means to controllably guide the anchor through water, said housingincluding a front portion having a substantially fiat transverse forwardwall and a rearwardly tapering rear portion having a radially extendingvane mounted thereon, and wherein said inlet is centrally disposed insaid forward wall and said outlets are rearwardly oriented and disposedthrough the periphery of said housing.

7. An anchor in accordance with claim 6 wherein said support meansincludes a bale pivotally connected to either side of said housingproximate said forward wall.

8. An anchor in accordance with claim 7 wherein a plurality of outletsare provided in said housing and wherein said means to controllablyguide the anchor through water comprises:

a valve associated with each of said outlets to independently controlthe effluent therefrom to alter the orientation of said housing whensaid anchor is moving through water.

9. An anchor in accordance with claim 7 wherein said vanes are pivotallymounted on said housing and wherein said means to controllably guide theanchor through water comprises:

at least one actuator connected between said vanes and said housing tochange the orientation therebetween to alter the orientation of saidhousing when said anchor is moving through water.

10. A self-propelled maneuverable anchor having an ogive configurationfor suction attachment to a submerged surface including:

said housing having a rearward water-tight motor chamber and an impellerchamber forward of the motor chamber,

motor means within the motor chamber having a drive shaft extending intothe impeller chamber,

an impeller on said shaft,

the impeller chamber being provided with a centrally located water inletand rearwardly disposed water outlets,

a sealing means secured to the forward end of the impeller chamber andconcentric with the centrally disposed Water inlet,

a vane means securely mounted on the housing at the apex of the ogiveand extending outwardly from the housing, and

adjustable means to controllably guide the anchor through the Water.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,347,491 4/1944 Lente 114-513,263,641 8/1966 Stimson 114-206 FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner.

T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner.

1. A SELF-PROPELLED MANEUVERABLE ANCHOR FOR SUCTION ATTACHMENT TO SUBMERGED SURFACES COMPRISING: A PUMP MEANS INCLUDING A HOUSING; A PUMP INLET AND AT LEAST ONE OUTLET THROUGH SAID HOUSING, SAID OUTLET CONFIGURED TO DIRECT THE EFFLUENT FROM SAID PUMP ALONG SAID HOUSING TO PROPEL THE ANCHOR THROUGH WATER; AN ANNULAR SEAL DISPOSED AROUND SAID PUMP INLET, A SUPPORT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HOUSING FOR LOWERING THE ANCHOR INTO A BODY OF WATER; AND ADJUSTABLE MEANS TO CONTROLLABLY GUIDE THE ANCHOR THROUGH WATER. 